Max Kilman became the first sale of the summer for Wolves last week as he joined West Ham United – and Craig Dawson has now given his thoughts about losing his defensive partner.
West Ham finally signed Kilman after months of speculation, with Wolves accepting a £40 million bid.
The club were thought to be holding out for £45 million. But they felt comfortable accepting £40 million and the deal has been widely praised given Kilman cost just £40,000 six years ago.
Kilman was a solid player for Wolves.
He had firmly established himself in the backline over the past few years, and ahead of the 2023/24 season, he became captain at Wolves, after Ruben Neves had left for Saudi Arabia.
One man who probably knew Kilman better than most was Craig Dawson – and the star has now given his take on the sale of his fellow centre-back.
Craig Dawson admits he’s ‘sad’ about Max Kilman leaving as he reveals contact with former skipper
Kilman was the most-used player last season by Gary O’Neil, so to lose a player of such durability and consistency is a bit of a blow for Wolves.
It will be really interesting to hear O’Neil’s comments on the sale, given how much he used him.
But those comments will likely come at a later date, as he focuses on the players at his disposal now.
Dawson has been back in pre-season training at Wolves having spent the off-season ‘doing quite a lot of work to be ready’ to return.
He had time to catch up for a chat with the club’s media team, and his quotes have been published this evening. He was asked about Kilman’s exit, and said: “It’s obviously sad that Max isn’t here, but it’s a great opportunity for him and I wish him the best of luck.
“He’s been great to play with the last couple of seasons, so I can only wish him the best of luck. Max is a good friend, so he spoke to me. It’s a great move for him, closer to home, so we wish him luck, but not too much when we play each other.”
But Dawson believes there are lots of people primed and ready to step up following the exit of Kilman.
“It’s a strong group and it’s important for us all to step up and fill the hole that Max has left,” he added. “Within the group, I’m sure there’s many players wanting to step up and obviously with a couple of signing already, and hopefully a couple more coming, there’s plenty of people to step up.”
Dawson was great for Kilman
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Kilman was arguably a much more effective defender for Wolves when he had Dawson alongside him in the backline.
It is going to be interesting to see how he gets on at the London Stadium. West Ham have got themselves a good, solid Premier League player. But he seemingly becomes a better player with a more natural leader alongside him.
If West Ham can pair Kilman with someone of this profile, then he could end up making that £40 million fee look fairly cheap.
And it will also be interesting to see how Wolves get on in a post-Kilman world.
He was always there in that backline and sometimes the criticism of him on social media was harsh. He may have lacked aggression, but he was a terrific ball-player, and very versatile and durable.
Hopefully Wolves are able to sign a good replacement.